Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-14
CONGRESSIONAL,
The Interstate Commerce Bill Again
Discussed and Yete to be Taken
in the Senate To-Day.
The House Has a Quiet Day and Passes
Only G. Few Bills of Small
Importance.
KILN CONGRESS.
THE SENATE.

WAShINGiONi Jdu. IL - DtLlS NClC It.
ported from committees and placed on
the calendar as follows:
By Mr.. Hoar, from the library commit
tee, iOr the erection OF a monument TO
negro soldiers and sailors who gave their
lives to the preservation of the govern
ment.
BY Mr.. Plumb, from public land COM
mittee, TO extend the laws to unexplored
territory south of Kansas.
BY Mr.. Fry, from the committee on
commerce, proposition as an amend
ment to the postofice appropriation bill
appropriating $500, 600 TO carry the mails
between the United States and Brazil
and Central and South America.
By Mr.. German, from the committee on
commerce, appropriating $500, 600 for the
iettieS of Charleston hsroOr.
Mr.. Morgan introduced by request
bill u authorize the Cherokee, Creek,
Choctaw, ChiCkassw and Seminole In
dams to bring suits in certain United
States courts relating to the condemns
ton of their property for public use. Re-
ferred.
On motion of Mr.. Gray the senate bill
to pay NJ. c. Mordeaux S37, 1871 in fun
compensation for carrying the mail from
Charleston to Havana, Cuba, between
October. 1859, and July, 1860, was taken
up and passed
The senate then resumed consideration
OF The conference report on the Interstate
commerce bill. I report having been
read IN full Mr.. H3ar moved that the
senate disagree to the report and insist
on it, former action and request 3 confer
enCe.
Mr.. Cullom claimed that his motion to
agree 10 the report took precedeaLe OF
the motion to disagree.
Mr. Harris, one Of the confarecs, de-
sired every senator to realize the fec.
that when he voted on the question OF
ayr eng or disagree ing &c this reDJr- he
was voting in effect on the question rs to
whether there should be any legislation
on the subject during thIs congress.
Mr.. HUar Charac eriZed Mr.. Harms
statement as extraordinary, and appealed
TO tho senate not to submit TO that kind
of thing. Here was q bill which EN-
bodied four great Statutory propositions, on
which the senate, the house Of represen
t2iiveS and the American people were
substantially egreeG, and the senate was
E0W told that none Of these things should
DE accomplished uHless there was en-
grated on the bill departure from the
great doctrine of rt2sOn2bieness, unless
there was eDgrsfted on principle against
which customers and rot railroads., who
were interested III the carrying trade,
were protesting on the ground that the
inevitable effect WOlid be 20 put up
freightS and TO make large branches of
business-now carried on successfully and
oftably-impossible in the future.
Mr.. George advocated the adoption of
the report. lie said he mad 70 doubt that
the eject of legislation would be to in
crease freight rates temporarily, not be-
cause that YVES the legitimate result of it,
but because railroad companies would
make it an occasion of unnecessarily and
uDjustly raising rates in order to bring
the measure into disrepute. He was sat
islied that if the conference report were
disaareed to it meant no legislation OF
the subject during this congress.
Mr.. Hoar-"Whv:"
Mr.. GeOrge-"BscGuse after the ex-
IRENE concessions made by the conferees |
on each side, if this reasonable report, |
which is faiyer to the railroads than to |
the people, be rendered useless, no fur !
Their concessions can be made"
say that if u maj Ority of the senate Is Of !
the opinion that this long and shOrt-haul |
section is absurd it will raise rates not |
will defeat the purpOSe OF the OIL, any !
member of either house will refuse to vote |
for all other excellent legislation which |
he also approves of il the bil:"
Mr.. George-''There is a feeling, 9 sen
I
that this bill, and ell legislation on this !
subject, is 20 be defeated by dilato-y mo- |
tionS. | DO not know how far it goes, |
and do not entertain that suspicion my
self believe, however, that it will |
be the policy of the railroad companies
as soon as the bill becomes law by all
sorts OF tricks and maneuvers to raise
rates unreasOnahly and unjustly and to
charge that to this bill. Every effort, de-
vice and trick will be resorted to by rail-
road companies for the purpose of bring
ing into disrepute legislation on this SUBJ
.iect "
Mr.. Fry gave notice that he would
move 10 recommit the report with in
structions and claimed that the motion
would take precedence of the other two
motions.
Mr.. Evarts then addressed the senate
in opposition to the report. The bill, he
said, had been properly designated an act
to regulate commerce, not to regulate
interstate commerce. He denounced the
bill as unconstitutional, inconsistent with
the basis on which the constitution lodged
in the federal government jurisdiction
over the subjects of commerce. The con-
stitution was framed "to form 3
more perfect union, to establish JUS
tice and insure domestic tranquility"
but the effect OF this bill would be in its
tendencies to make the Union less per-
feet, to disestablish justice and insure
domestic discord. Every decision Of the
supreme court on this subject had been
70 remove impediments to commerce ana
to insist on absolute equality, but the
pending measure would interfere with the
freedom and equality of commerce, and
the reasons hich denied to states the
power to do so were also reasons why the
same power should be referred to
the federal government. Outside of the
fourth and fifth sections the bill was in
regulation OF commerce and properly be
longed to a species of law-making, but
these sections were q departure from
and were an attempt to lay
down rules of transportation not recog-
niZed nv the laws of commerce. For